Diminishing Paige

By Robert Shields

Paige Wheeler and Storm Lancaster, intelligent expellees, serendipitously meet at a garage sale and end up approaching sex in an awkward textbook fashion. They view the relationship through the lens of economics as if sex were a commodity. As they grow closer, Paige’s promiscuous past comes to light and haunts her, which leads to complications in the relationship. Storm’s ineptness in handling the pressures of a relationship from previously attending an all-boys school also causes problems while Paige finds some amusement in his immaturity. Her sterilized view of sex creates consternation for Storm. At their new school, they make a mutual friend in Jamal. The three engage in pranks as their friendship develops. Storm’s proclivity as an adolescent male leads to poor decisions with Paige as Jamal, often the voice of reason, is ignored to the detriment of the couple. Emotions spin out of control after a frolicking camping trip with Paige’s old high-school buddies and the sexual economics experiment explodes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781300003380

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Diminishing Paige

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DIMINISHING PAIGE

BY

ROBERT SHIELDS

FRUITBAT BOOKS SECOND EDITION 2014

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: [e-mail]

WWW.FRUITBATBOOKS.COM

COPYRIGHT 2014, 2013 AND 2012 BY ROBERT SHIELDS

COPYRIGHT YEAR: 2014

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: BY ROBERT SHIELDS.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The above information forms the copyright notice:  2014 by Robert Shields.  All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

COPYRIGHT 2014, 2013 AND 2012 BY ROBERT SHIELDS

FRUITBAT BOOKS SECOND EDITION 2014, 2013 AND 2012

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: [e-mail]

WWW.FRUITBATBOOKS.COM

DISCLAIMER

The stories in this book are fictional.  The characters, names, incidents, dialogue, places and plot are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to give a special thanks to my beautiful wife who put up with me writing this book.  I appreciate her tolerance.

OTHER BOOKS OF ROBERT SHIELDS

Daphne and The Mysterious Girls Secret Bathroom Society

Daphne’s Ticonderoga

The Three Skirts

Secretgirlsociety.com

NON FICTON BOOKS

The Economics of Sex

Sexonomics

Scarlet Fever: A Razorback House Divided

What I Saw Today: Confessions of the Self Absorbed Observer

WWW.FRUITBATBOOKS.COM

Chapter 1: Three Days before Christmas Break

Sergeant Major, with all due respect, what the hell just happened here? Storm Lancaster demanded.

Watch your tone with me, boy. the Marine Junior ROTC commander had no tolerance for insubordination.

I earned the position of brigade commander this year.  It can’t just be taken from me?

The short, stout Sergeant rose from his desk. Son, it’s best to understand early in life that no matter how hard you try some bureaucrat can come along and smash your dreams just because he can.

At St. John’s, a private Catholic high school with enough rich kids to fill the halls, Storm had to work harder than most for the last three years to earn his rank.  He had been soft as a freshman, but he'd hardened under the ROTC physical fitness program.  Now he was ripped, his hair was buzzed into a Marine Corps high and tight. 

He kept his hat under his arm, even though he knew formality had gone out the window as soon as he started cussing out his ROTC instructor.  He put his hat down on the desk.  Sergeant Major turned away.  He had grown fond of Storm over the years and Storm had immense respect for him.

You know this is wrong.  Storm yanked off his ranks and threw them on the desk.  The metal bars scratched across the smooth surface of the desk.  He stormed out of the office slamming the door behind him.  He knew where he was heading.  He went straight to the principal’s office.

The secretary, Betty Oberfell, tried to stop him by saying, He has someone in there right now.

That did not deter Storm.  He was pissed and couldn't control the growing anger inside him.  His hands were clenched into fists.  The type A personality that helped him earn his rank was getting the better of him.

He pushed open the door to the principal’s office.  The principal, Steve May, was sitting at the desk talking to a set of perspective parents. All three of them looked toward the door at the disruption.

Mr. May rose from his desk. Is there something wrong, Storm?

You know damn well there's something wrong!  You had me removed from my rank. And I’m betting it was to give it to some rich kid.  How often do you sell positions at this school? He slammed his fist into the brick wall.  He hid the pain that shot through his hand by clenching his jaw.

The visiting parents remained silent but turned their gaze toward Steve.

Young man, I know you’re upset about something, but whatever it is can be handled later.  Set an appointment with Mrs. Oberfell. Steve said trying to wave him off.

NO! Storm shouted, his voice vibrating with fury.  You’re going to explain to me right now why some new kid gets promoted to brigade commander. That was my position. I busted my ass to earn it!

Storm you’re upset.  Steve picked up the phone and dialed a number.  Betty, call Storm Lancaster’s parents and tell them to come pick him up.

Screw it!  Storm marched out of the office.  He knew he was beyond the point of no return. The expletive usually never used had just exploded out of his mouth. The thought of all his excellent grades, his rank in ROTC, and his place in other groups that he knew were now all gone was sickening.  He was going to be expelled. 

He went straight to his locker and emptied all the contents; shoving what he wanted in his backpack and flinging the rest on the floor.  He slammed through the exit doors of the building and went to the parking lot. He fired up his car and tore out of the school grounds.

Chapter 2: Two Days before Christmas Break

Paige Wheeler, please report to the school office. The announcement came over the intercom system.

Paige rose from her desk.  She was curvy in a very alluring way.  She had a raw feminity being ample in her construction in all the right places that made other women jealous. She pulled out the band holding her pony tail.  Her brown chestnut hair fell around her face and onto her shoulders.  She grabbed her backpack and pulled a pack of gum out of it.  She stood at her desk and all her classmates gawked at her.

As she walked up the aisle of desks, she purposefully bumped into Susan Swander’s desk, her enemy. Paige dropped the pack of gum on her friend’s desk of Vivica Vance, and then rewarded her other friend, Marybeth Chappell, with the hair band. Paige knew her group of friends known cryptically around the school as the Three Skirts was about to be busted up.

As she arrived in the office of the principal of Mount St. Veronica, she was met at the door by the principal and another teacher and told to, Follow us.

Paige followed behind them with a sinking feeling as they headed in the direction of her locker.  As expected, they reached her locker and stopped. She stood behind them as they twisted the combination and the handle clicked open.  The teacher reached up on the top shelf and pulled down a bottle of pills.

Paige, you know it’s against school policy to have drugs even if they are a prescription. The principal explained.

Susan Swander, that stupid bitch!  Paige said emphatically.

We will have to call someone to get you.  This is your second offense of drugs at the school and the policy is quite clear.

Paige knew what was next. She knew the punishment was expulsion.  She had already been suspended before for the same infraction. She started to stuff her backpack.

Wait, we need to call someone to get you.  It’s what the policy manual dictates.

No point.  They’re gone.  I’m gone. Paige grabbed the last of her possessions. You can keep the pills. You may need them. Paige said to her principal with a twinkle in her eye as she slammed the locker shut with her hip.  She gave them a wry smile.

You’re so close to graduating.  You still have a semester to complete. The two school administrators gaped at her in disappointment.

Paige shrugged her shoulders and headed down the hallway.  She turned around and yelled back down the corridor, Send my information and transcript to Park Central.  It’s going to be where I enroll.  She paused and then said, I need it there by tomorrow morning so send it today.  She pushed open the door and exited the building to the parking lot.

The cold air hit her face.  Christmas break was just a day away.  Snow started to fall from the sky.  She raised her face to the sky and let the flakes fall on her. As she arrived at the door of her new Mercedes, she looked back the school. She opened her door, fired up the engine and pushed the heater’s controls all the way to hot.

She leaned forward as the engine warmed up and put her head on the steering wheel and thought, What have I done?  All the work she'd put into making her grades.  She looked into the mirror and brushed her hair out of the way.

Oh well. If nothing else, at least she had cool hair. No, she had awesome hair.  It was thick and full, brown with a hint of red.  It had long lazy curls.  She was asked all the time what she used to color her hair.  Her answer without fail was, water. Her mother had always said that, she had the hair of a pregnant woman.  Paige accepted it as a compliment.

It was close to lunch, so she drove through the nearest fast food restaurant and ordered the number one.  The food arrived and she drove away thinking of where to go as she managed the fries while holding onto the steering wheel.  She meandered the Mercedes into the aristocratic neighborhood of the Heights, rounded a corner and in her fit of eating, barely missed a lady crossing the street.  She came to a screeching halt avoiding the catastrophe.  There she saw a sign saying garage sale.

Chapter 3: Garage Sale

Paige parked her car and strolled across a close trimmed lawn to the garage sale.  She figured after almost hitting someone it was time to take a break from driving and gather her thoughts.  The house in front of her was ornate with a low rock wall marking the boundary of the property.  She walked up and started to peruse the items for sale.  She picked up a book or two and opened them.  Inside both of them was inscribed the name, Lancaster.  A boy was in her peripheral vision transacting with someone, giving them proper change from their purchase of a clothing item. Paige noticed the straight-laced individual and considered the boyish man a challenge. He was not quite model good looking, but Paige could see the potential that she could easily renovate this fixer upper.  Paige walked around to another table and started to pick up the pieces of an old electric football table.

This table is an original.  I used it for years and was the site of the greatest electric football game ever played – the Raccoons won. Storm said with a laugh.

The who won? Paige responded.

Raccoons.  It was a made up team name.  You know there are Badgers, Wolverines, Gophers – how come no Raccoons?  So, I named my team the Raccoons. Storm said.

Don’t you think Coons is a little insensitive in this day and age? Paige shot back raising an eyebrow in judgment.

I didn’t say Coons.  I said Raccoons.  You said Coons.  Anyway, you want the table?  I’ll cut you a deal since you seem to be a connoisseur of relic toys.  I can see that you know value.  A fool knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Storm said with a smile.

Ha! Your mom teach you that? She said in giggles, pulling from her old bag of flirting tricks.

Nah, I just heard it on a television show and was waiting for the chance to use it.  Feel free to borrow it.  I won’t fault you for stealing my material.

I just might.  Show me how the game works?

Storm set up the little plastic football men and then flipped the switch.  The gridiron figurines began to bounce on the vibrating table.  He pointed to a guy, He’s got the ball.  One of your players has to touch him to make him down.  The vibrating running back moved behind his blockers and out of nowhere a hole opened for the vibrating player to break through the wall of would be tacklers.  As the miniature footballer moved toward the end zone, Paige picked up one of the opposing players and knocked down the running back.

He’s down.  Paige said.

Ah, that’s not the way it’s played.  You stopped the Raccoons from scoring the winning touchdown.

You said one of my players had to touch him.  One did.  Paige answered.  She caught Storm staring at her well-endowed chest.  She was familiar with this kind of staring and knew instinctively when men were looking at her chest instead of her eyes. Like what you see?  It was her standard response when busting guys.  She found that it was startling, but not off putting.

Storm was embarrassed and immediately looked up into her blue eyes.  She was beautiful.  The lazy wavy hair fell to her shoulders. After the brief pause, he regained his composure, You want the table?

I think that I do, but I want a discount for the peek you took.  The tag says ten bucks.  I’ll take it for five.  Wrap it up, it’s a gift.  She pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it to him.

I don’t do wrapping.

It’s also the reason that I’m not tipping you.  She winked at him and started to walk off as she lifted the tin football table.

His heart raced. No girl had ever winked